Governor Josh Shapiro Awards $95 Million for Acid Mine Drainage Cleanup and Rare Earth Extraction

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Governor Josh Shapiro announced on Monday the distribution of $95 million in state and federal Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grants to construct four advanced chemical neutralization treatment plants across Cambria, Clearfield, Schuylkill, and Luzerne counties.

The treatment facilities will remediate toxic, acidic discharge flowing from historical 19th- and 20th-century underground coal mines, restoring water quality across 180 miles of polluted rivers and tributaries in the Susquehanna and Ohio River basins while extracting commercially valuable rare earth elements and heavy minerals from treatment sludge.

Restoring Pennsylvania's Historic Appalachian Watersheds Legacy coal mining left Pennsylvania with over 5,000 miles of streams contaminated by acid mine drainage (AMD)—water laden with sulfuric acid, dissolved iron, aluminum, and manganese that destroys aquatic life and corrodes municipal bridge infrastructure.

"Pennsylvania's coal miners powered the Industrial Revolution and helped win two world wars, but our communities were left with miles of orange, polluted streams that held back local economies," Governor Shapiro said along the Stonycreek River in Johnstown. "Today, we are turning that environmental legacy into an economic asset. By investing $95 million in modern treatment facilities, we are cleaning up 180 miles of waterways for fishing, boating, and tourism, while pioneering new technologies to extract critical minerals right here in coal country."

Treatment Facility Locations and Mineral Extraction Funded projects include:

• Stonycreek River Treatment Plant (Cambria County): $32 million to treat 12 million gallons daily of deep-mine discharge.
• Clearfield Creek Watershed Facility: $25 million for automated limestone neutralization and high-density sludge precipitation.
• Schuylkill River Headwaters Complex: $20 million for passive bio-reactor wetlands.
• Rare Earth Mineral Extraction Demonstration Facility: $18 million in partnership with Penn State University to pilot commercial recovery of neodymium, dysprosium, and scandium from AMD precipitate.

Watershed conservation groups, anglers' associations, and regional municipal authorities commended the historic investment, pointing out that remediated streams unlock millions in eco-tourism, trout fishing, and outdoor recreation revenue.